Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) is a Telegraph features writer, novelist and broadcaster. His website is jakewallissimons.com. Follow him on Facebook here and on Twitter here. His fourth novel, Jam, which is set in a traffic jam on the M25, is out now.

The chap lives in the Sussex village of Stonegate, and commutes to Cannon Street station in London. Apparently he realised that by "tapping out" with his Oyster card at Cannon Street station but not "tapping in" at Stonegate, he would be routinely charged just a fraction of his total fare. And did this every day for five years.

Imagine the feeling of arriving at work day in, day out, knowing that you're screwing the system. The audacity of it! Personally, I could never go through with it; I would be held back by a toxic blend of cowardliness and moral principle. Clearly, this man had neither of the above.

There has been an outcry over the fact that Southeastern did not prosecute him, instead accepting an out-of-court settlement. But to many beleaguered, downtrodden commuters around the country, the man is a bit of a hero.

Don't get me wrong: I'd never condone fraud or theft. But given the fact that the fat cats of the railways pay themselves so much – last year it was revealed that many receive "six-figure salaries" – while keeping a tight grip on their monopoly of the railways, I can't help but see this fare dodger as a combination of a criminal and a resistance fighter.

Over the last decade ticket fares have gone up by 50 per cent, despite "no perceptible improvement in service". We have the highest rail prices in Europe, and the service we receive is pitifully inadequate. And as an illustration of the contempt in which commuters are held by railway bosses, if I were to lose my £4,500 ticket more than once, the rail companies would refuse to replace it.

When seen from this point of view, it's hard not to view this as a victory for the little man.

Only technically it wasn't. He was collared by a jobsworth ticket inspector, and forced to pay back his ill-gotten gains (though very sportingly, as I mentioned, they agreed not to prosecute him).

So if you're reading, Mr Dodger, consider this. You need to be more sophisticated in your nefarious ways. Watch this video of this ingenious Polish commuter, and take a leaf out of his book. You might find his technique very helpful.

If you can stomach travelling every day on the luggage rack, that is.

<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/7967123/">Is the 'biggest fare dodger in history' a criminal or a hero?</a>